System and method for service life management based on corrosion rate reduction

ABSTRACT

A computing device of an information handling system includes a hardware component. The hardware component is also connected to a trace. The computing device also includes a corrosion management component that is physically connected to the trace. The corrosion management component reduces a rate of corrosion of the trace due to an ambient environment in which the trace resides. The corrosion management component reduces the rate of corrosion by applying an electrical potential to the trace.

BACKGROUND

As the value and use of information continues to increase, individualsand businesses seek additional ways to process and store information.One option available to users is information handling systems. Aninformation handling system (IHS) generally processes, compiles, stores,and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or otherpurposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of theinformation. Because technology and information handling needs andrequirements vary between different users or applications, informationhandling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled,how the information is handled, how much information is processed,stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the informationmay be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in informationhandling systems allow for information handling systems to be general orconfigured for a specific user or specific use such as financialtransaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage,or global communications. In addition, information handling systems mayinclude a variety of hardware and software components that may beconfigured to process, store, and communicate information and mayinclude one or more computer systems, data storage systems, andnetworking systems.

Use cases for information handling systems are causing progressivelylarger number of information handling systems to be disposed near eachother. For example, rack mount systems utilize a rack structure to stackmany information handling systems in a vertical arrangement. Due to thechanging uses of information handling systems, chassis of informationhandling systems may modular. That is, a chassis may be composed ofmultiple enclosures that may be attached to each other to form thechassis of the information handling systems. When the multipleenclosures are attached, components of the information handling systemdisposed in each of the enclosures may become operably connected to eachother.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, a computing device of an information handling system inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the invention comprises ahardware component and a trace connected to the hardware component. Thecomputing device also includes a corrosion management component,physically connected to the trace, that reduces a rate of corrosion ofthe trace due to an ambient environment in which the trace resides byapplying an electrical potential to the trace.

In one aspect, a method for environmentally managing a computing deviceof an information handling system in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the invention includes monitoring an environmentalcorrosion risk associated with a trace of the computing device, thetrace is physically connected to a corrosion management componentadapted to reduce a rate of corrosion of the trace due to an ambientenvironment in which the trace resides by applying an electricalpotential to the trace; making a determination that the trace isassociated with the corrosion management component; in response to thedetermination: estimating a corrosion risk of the trace based on: theenvironmental corrosion risk, and a risk reduction factor associatedwith the corrosion management component; making a second determinationthat the corrosion risk of the trace indicates a premature failure ofthe trace; and remediating the corrosion risk of the trace.

In one aspect, a non-transitory computer readable medium includescomputer readable program code, which when executed by a computerprocessor enables the computer processor to perform a method forenvironmentally managing a computing device of an information handlingsystem, the method in accordance with one or more embodiments of theinvention includes monitoring an environmental corrosion risk associatedwith a trace of the computing device, the trace is physically connectedto a corrosion management component adapted to reduce a rate ofcorrosion of the trace due to an ambient environment in which the traceresides by applying an electrical potential to the trace; making adetermination that the trace is associated with the corrosion managementcomponent; in response to the determination: estimating a corrosion riskof the trace based on: the environmental corrosion risk, and a riskreduction factor associated with the corrosion management component;making a second determination that the corrosion risk of the traceindicates a premature failure of the trace; and remediating thecorrosion risk of the trace. monitoring an environmental corrosion riskassociated with a trace of the computing device, the trace is physicallyconnected to a corrosion management component adapted to reduce a rateof corrosion of the trace due to an ambient environment in which thetrace resides by applying an electrical potential to the trace; making adetermination that the trace is associated with the corrosion managementcomponent; in response to the determination: estimating a corrosion riskof the trace based on: the environmental corrosion risk, and a riskreduction factor associated with the corrosion management component;making a second determination that the corrosion risk of the traceindicates a premature failure of the trace; and remediating thecorrosion risk of the trace.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Certain embodiments of the invention will be described with reference tothe accompanying drawings. However, the accompanying drawings illustrateonly certain aspects or implementations of the invention by way ofexample and are not meant to limit the scope of the claims.

FIG. 1.1 shows a diagram of an information handling system in accordancewith one or more embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 1.2 shows a diagram of a building that includes informationhandling systems in accordance with one or more embodiments of theinvention.

FIG. 1.3 shows a diagram of a chassis of an information handling systemsin accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 1.4 shows a diagram of computing components in accordance with oneor more embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 1.5 shows a diagram of a corrosion management components integratedwith computing components in accordance with one or more embodiments ofthe invention.

FIG. 1.6 shows a cross section diagram of a first trace integratedcorrosion management component in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the invention.

FIG. 1.7 shows a cross section diagram of a second trace integratedcorrosion management component in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the invention.

FIG. 1.8 shows a cross section diagram of a third trace integratedcorrosion management component in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the invention.

FIG. 1.9 shows a cross section diagram of a fourth trace integratedcorrosion management component in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the invention.

FIG. 1.10 shows a top view diagram of a chassis including an integratedcorrosion management component in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a diagram of an environmental manager of an informationhandling system in accordance with one or more embodiments of theinvention.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of a method of managing an internal environmentof a chassis of an information handling system in accordance with one ormore embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 4 shows a diagram of a computing device in accordance with one ormore embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Specific embodiments will now be described with reference to theaccompanying figures. In the following description, numerous details areset forth as examples of the invention. It will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that one or more embodiments of the present inventionmay be practiced without these specific details and that numerousvariations or modifications may be possible without departing from thescope of the invention. Certain details known to those of ordinary skillin the art are omitted to avoid obscuring the description.

In the following description of the figures, any component describedwith regard to a figure, in various embodiments of the invention, may beequivalent to one or more like-named components described with regard toany other figure. For brevity, descriptions of these components will notbe repeated with regard to each figure. Thus, each and every embodimentof the components of each figure is incorporated by reference andassumed to be optionally present within every other figure having one ormore like-named components. Additionally, in accordance with variousembodiments of the invention, any description of the components of afigure is to be interpreted as an optional embodiment, which may beimplemented in addition to, in conjunction with, or in place of theembodiments described with regard to a corresponding like-namedcomponent in any other figure.

In general, embodiments of the invention relate to systems, devices, andmethods for managing components of an information handling system. Aninformation handling system may be a system that provides computerimplemented services. These services may include, for example, databaseservices, electronic communication services, data storage services, etc.

To provide these services, the information handling system may includeone or more computing devices. The computing devices may include anynumber of computing components that facilitate providing of the servicesof the information handling system. The computing components mayinclude, for example, processors, memory modules, circuit cards thatinterconnect these components, etc.

During operation, these components may be exposed to gases that maycause the components to corrode. Corrosion may cause the components tofail prior to the computing device meeting its service life goals.

Embodiments of the invention may provide methods and systems that reducethe risk of corrosion related failures in information handling systems.To reduce the risk of corrosion related failures, the system may includecorrosion management components. A corrosion management component mayreduce the rate of corrosion of one or more components even when thecomponents are exposed to environmental conditions that would causecorrosion.

To reduce the rate of corrosion, the corrosion management componentschange the reactivity of the components. For example, the corrosionmanagement components may create an electrical potential that reducesthe chemical reactivity of a management component.

In one or more embodiments of the invention, the corrosion managementcomponent includes chemically reactive metals (e.g., corrosionmanagement materials that are more reactive than those used forelectrical conductivity purposes, the corrosion management materials maybe, for example, as silver, zinc, magnesium, etc.) that, when placed incontact with a component, form a potential cell with the component. Thepotential cell may generate the electrical potential between the managedcomponent and the corrosion management component. For example, if acomponent is formed from copper, a corrosion management component mayinclude zinc metal.

Corrosion management components may be strategically disposed ondifferent portions of a computing device to reduce its susceptibility tocorrosion related failure. For example, corrosion management componentsmay be integrated with high frequency data busses to maintain theintegrity of these lines. In contrast, corrosion management componentsmay not be integrated with components such as power feed lines that orcomponents disposed in locations that are unlikely to have environmentalconditions that are conducive to the formation of corrosion.

Corrosion management materials may be implemented as discrete components(e.g., surface mount components) or integrated into existing components.For example, corrosion management materials may be integrated withtraces and/or vias of circuit cards to limit the corrosion of theconductive materials of the traces and/or vias.

The corrosion management materials may be integrated using any suitablemethod such as, for example, screen printing of inks that includeprecursor materials that may be processed to form corrosion managementmaterial layers, electrochemical deposition, rolled layers of corrosionmanagement material layers, etc.

Corrosion management components may have a limited capacity to managethe corrosion of other components. For example, the corrosion managementcomponents may chemically react to provide corrosion management forother components. Consequently, corrosion management components may needto be periodically replaced and/or sized to ensure that they are able toprovide corrosion management services for a sufficient duration of timesuch that other components receiving corrosion management services arelikely to meet their service life goals.

By utilizing corrosion management components, a system in accordancewith embodiments of the invention may be less likely to prematurely faildue to corrosion, be more likely to meet its service life goal, be ableto accept a wider range of intake gas conditions that may be more likelyto cause corrosion without negatively impacting the system, and/or maybe less costly to operate by reducing the necessary level ofconditioning of gases taken into the chassis of the information handlingsystems for cooling purposes.

FIG. 1.1 shows an information handling system (10) in accordance withone or more embodiments of the invention. The system may include a frame(110) and any number of chassis (e.g., 100A, 100B, 100C).

The frame (110) may be a mechanical structure that enables chassis to bepositioned with respect to one another. For example, the frame (110) maybe a rack mount enclosure that enables chassis to be disposed within it.The frame (110) may be implemented as other types of structures adaptedto house, position, orient, and/or otherwise physically, mechanically,electrically, and/or thermally manage chassis. By managing the chassis,the frame (110) may enable multiple chassis to be densely packed inspace without negatively impacting the operation of the informationhandling system (10).

A chassis (e.g., 100A) may be a mechanical structure for housingcomponents of an information handling system. For example, a chassis maybe implemented as a rack mountable enclosure for housing components ofan information handling system. The chassis may be adapted to bedisposed within the frame (110) and/or utilize services provided by theframe (110) and/or other devices.

Any number of components may be disposed in each of the respectivechassis (e.g., 100A, 100B, 100C). These components may be portions ofcomputing devices that provide computer implemented services, discussedin greater detail below.

When the components provide computer implemented services, thecomponents may generate heat. For example, the components may utilizeelectrical energy to perform computations and generate heat as abyproduct of performing the computations. If left unchecked, buildup ofheat within a chassis may cause temperatures of the components disposedwithin the chassis to exceed preferred ranges.

The preferred ranges may include a nominal range in which the componentsrespectively operate (i) without detriment and/or (ii) are likely to beable to continue to operate through a predetermined service life of acomponent. Consequently, it may be desirable to maintain thetemperatures of the respective components within the preferred range(e.g., a nominal range).

When a component operates outside of the preferred range, the servicelife of the component may be reduced, the component may not be able toperform optimally (e.g., reduced ability to provide computations, higherlikelihood of error introduced into computations, etc.), and/or thecomponent may be more likely to unexpectedly fail. The component may besubject to other undesirable behavior when operating outside of thepreferred range without departing from the invention.

To operate components within the preferred range of temperature, thechassis may include air exchanges (e.g., 102). An air exchange (102) maybe one or more openings in an exterior of a chassis that enables thechassis to exchange gases with an ambient environment. For example, achassis may utilize air exchanges to (i) vent hot gases and (ii) intakecool gases. By doing so, the temperature of the gases within the chassismay be reduced. Consequently, the temperatures of components within thechassis may be reduced by utilizing the cooler gases taken into thechassis via an air exchange.

However, utilizing gases to cool components within a chassis may beproblematic. The gases may not be benign. For example, the gases may be(i) chemically reactive, (ii) include humidity, and/or (iii) otherwiseinteract with components disposed within the chassis in an undesirablemanner. The reaction between the gases used to cool the components andthe components themselves (or other components proximate to theto-be-cooled components) may negatively impact the components disposedwithin the chassis.

For example, if the gases include a chemically reactive component (e.g.,chlorine species), the gases may react (i.e., chemically react) withportions of the components disposed within the chassis. These reactionsmay damage portions of the components resulting in a decreased servicelife of the components.

In another example, if the gases include humidity, the humidity may(under certain conditions) condense resulting in water being disposed onthe surface of the components. When water is disposed on the surface ofcomponents (even at very small levels), the water may chemically reactwith the components forming corrosion. The aforementioned reactions withthe condensed water may damage the components or otherwise cause them tooperate in an undesirable manner.

The potential reactions, discussed above, may cause numerous negativeimpacts. First, the reactions may impact the electrical conductivity ofvarious components. For example, when metals react with chemicallyreactive species, condensed water vapor, etc., the metals may formchemical compounds that are substantially less conductive than the puremetals. The reduced conductivities of the components may negativelyimpact the electrical functionality of the components (e.g., circuits)disposed within the chassis.

Second, the reactions may impact the physical size of variouscomponents. For example, when metals chemically react, the productsformed by the reactions may occupy significantly larger volumes than theunreacted metals (e.g., metal oxides vs elemental metals). The change involumes of the reacted metals may negatively impact the electricalfunctionality of the components by, for example, forming open circuitsby physically disconnecting various portions of the components from eachother and/or other devices.

The potential reactions may cause other negative impacts beyond thosediscussed herein. The negative impacts may cause a device to fail priorto it meeting its service life. A service life may be a desired durationof operation of a component, device, or system.

To address the above and/or other potential issues, embodiments of theinvention may provide methods, devices, and systems that mitigatecorrosion. To mitigate corrosion, corrosion management components may beutilized. A corrosion management component may be a component thatlimits the occurrence of corrosion of one or more components for whichthe corrosion management component provides corrosion managementservices.

To provide corrosion management services, the corrosion managementcomponents may modify the reactivity of components for which theyprovide corrosion management services. For example, the corrosionmanagement components may modify the corrosion susceptibility of othercomponents.

To modify the corrosion susceptibility of other components, thecorrosion management components may generate a voltage potential betweenthe managed component and the corrosion management component. Thevoltage potential may reduce the likelihood that the managed componentwill react with gases or condensed liquids. For example, the voltagepotential may create free charge in the managed component that reducesthe likelihood of chemical reactions from occurring.

In one or more embodiments of the invention, the corrosion managementcomponents are implemented as sacrificial anodes. A sacrificial anodemay be a portion of material that, when placed in contact with anothermaterial, forms a potential cell with between the two components. Thepotential cell may preferentially charge a managed component in a mannerthat makes it less chemically reactive and may preferentially charge thecorrosion management component in a manner that makes it more chemicallyreactive.

For example, if a to-be-managed component is formed of copper metal, acorrosion management component may be a portion of zinc. When placed indirect contact with the copper metal, a potential cell may be formedthereby causing the copper metal to be less susceptible to corrosionwhile the zinc material becomes more likely to corrode. Consequently,when the corrosion management component is placed in contact with themanaged component, the corrosion susceptibility of the managed componentmay be greatly reduced at the cost of the zinc material corroding at anaccelerated rate (when compared to the rate of corrosion when the zincmaterial is not in contact with the copper material).

For additional details regarding corrosion management components, referto FIGS. 1.4-1.9.

In addition to managing corrosion using corrosion management components,a system in accordance with embodiments of the invention may manage theenvironments themselves based on the risk of corrosion occurring. Forexample, a system may monitor the environmental conditions and/or ratesof corrosion that are occurring to determine if a risk of corrosionexists. If the risk of corrosion, even when corrosion managementcomponents are utilized, the system may automatically take steps tomodify the environment in which a device subject to corrosion resides toreduce the likelihood that corrosion may cause the device to prematurelyfail (e.g., prior to meeting service life goals).

For additional details regarding environment management, refer to FIGS.2-3.

To further clarify the environments in which corrosion may arise, adiagram of an environment in which a chassis may reside is illustratedin FIG. 1.2 and a diagram of a chassis is provided in FIG. 1.3.

Turning to FIG. 1.2, FIG. 1.2 shows a top view diagram of a building(115) in which chassis may reside in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the invention. The building (115) may house a data center(e.g., an aggregation of information handling systems) that includes anynumber of information handling systems (e.g., 10A, 10B). The informationhandling systems may include chassis which may need to intake andexhaust gases for temperature regulation purposes.

To facilitate gas management within the building (115), the informationhandling systems may be organized into rows (or other groupings ofinformation handling systems). In FIG. 1.2, the rows of informationhandling system extend from top to bottom along the page. To enablegases to be provided to the information handling systems (e.g., fortemperature regulation purposes), an airflow conditioner (120) may bedisposed within the building. The airflow conditioner (120) may providesupply airflow (122) and take in a return airflow (124). These airflowsare illustrated as arrows having dashed tails.

The supply airflow (122) may be at lower temperature than the returnairflow (124). Consequently, when information handling systems obtainportions of the supply airflow (122), the information handling systemsmay be able to utilize the supply airflow (122) to cool componentsdisposed within the chassis of the information handling systems. Forexample, gases from the supply airflow (122) may be passed by componentsdisposed within chassis of information handling systems that are atelevated temperatures. The gases may be at a lower temperature than thecomponents. Consequently, thermal exchange between the gases and thecomponents may decrease the temperature of the components.

After utilizing the gases from the supply airflow (122), the informationhandling systems may exhaust the gases as the return airflow (124).After being exhausted from the information handling systems, the returnairflow (124) may be obtained by the airflow conditioner (120), cooled,and recirculated as the supply airflow (122).

In addition to cooling the return airflow (124), the airflow conditioner(120) may be capable of obtaining gases from other areas (e.g., outsideof the building), reducing the humidity level of an airflow, and/orotherwise conditioning gases for use by information handling systemsand/or other devices.

To manage the aforementioned process, a system environmental manager(130) may be disposed within the building (115) or at other locations.The system environmental manager (130) may be a computing deviceprogrammed to (i) obtain information regarding the operation of theinformation handling systems and (ii) set the operating points of theairflow conditioner (120). By doing so, the system environmental manager(130) may cause the airflow conditioner (120) to provide gases to theinformation handling systems having a temperature and/or humidity levelthat may better enable the information handling systems to regulatetheir respective environmental conditions within the chassis of therespective information handling systems. However, conditioning thesupply airflow (122) may utilize large amounts of energy.

The airflow conditioner (120) may include functionality to granularly,or at a macro level, modify the temperature and/or humidity level of thesupply airflow (122). Consequently, different information handlingsystems (or groups thereof) may receive different supply airflows (e.g.,122) having different characteristics (e.g., different temperaturesand/or humidity levels, different sources, etc.).

Conditioning the return airflow (124) or gases obtained from outside ofthe building (115) may be costly, consume large amounts of electricity,or may otherwise be undesirable. To reduce these costs, the systemenvironmental manager (130) may set the operating point (e.g., desiredtemperature/humidity levels of different portions of the supply airflow(122)) of the airflow conditioner (120) to only provide the minimumnecessary characteristics required by each of the IHSs. By doing so, thecost of providing the supply airflow (122) having characteristicsrequired to meet the environmental requirements of the chassis of theinformation handling systems may be reduced.

To decide how to set the operating points of the airflow conditioner(120), the system environmental manager (130) may obtain and/or beprovided information regarding the environmental conditions within eachof the chassis. For example, the system environmental manager (130) maybe operably connected to environmental managers of each of the chassisand/or the airflow conditioner (120) via any combination of wired and/orwireless networks. The respective environmental managers of the chassismay provide such information to the system environmental manager (130)and/or service requests regarding the operating points of the airflowconditioner (120) via the operable connections.

The system environmental manager (130) may be implemented using acomputing device. For additional details regarding computing devices,refer to FIG. 4. The system environmental manager (130) may perform all,or a portion, of the method illustrated in FIG. 3 while providing itsfunctionality.

Turning to FIG. 1.3, FIG. 1.3 shows a diagram of a chassis (100A) inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the invention. A chassis maybe a portion of an IHS and/or house all, or a portion, of an IHS. Aninformation handling system may include a computing device that providesany number of services (e.g., computing implemented services). Toprovide services, the computing device may utilize computing resourcesprovided by computing components (140). The computing components (140)may include, for example, processors, memory modules, storage devices,special purpose hardware, and/or other types of physical components thatcontribute to the operation of the computing device. For additionaldetails regarding computing devices, refer to FIG. 4.

Because the computing device uses computing components (140) to provideservices, the ability of the computing device to provide services islimited based on the number and/or quantity of computing devices thatmay be disposed within the chassis. For example, by adding additionalprocessors, memory modules, and/or special purpose hardware devices, thecomputing device may be provided with additional computing resourceswhich it may be used to provide services. Consequently, large number ofcomputing components that each, respectively, generate heat may bedisposed within the chassis.

To maintain the temperatures of the computing components (140) (and/orother types of components) within a nominal range, gases may be taken inthrough an air exchange (102). The gases may be passed by the computingcomponents (140) to exchange heat with them. The heated gases may thenbe expelled out of another air exchange (102).

However, by taking in and expelling gases used for cooling purposes, thecomponents disposed within the chassis (100A) may be subject todegradation due to corrosion. For example, as discussed above, the gasesmay include components such as humidity or chemical species that maychemically react with the computing components (140) and/or other typesof components disposed in the chassis (100A) forming corrosion. Thechemical reaction products (e.g., corrosion) may damage the structureand/or change the electrical properties of the computing components(140). These changes may negatively impact the ability of the computingdevice to provide its functionality.

For example, the computing device may have a service life during whichit is expected that the computing device will be likely to provide itsfunctionality. However, changes in the structure and/or electricalproperties of these components due to exposure to humidity or othercomponents of the gases used for temperature regulation purposes maycause the components to prematurely fail ahead of the service life ofthe computing device due to corrosion formation.

In general, embodiments of the invention provide methods, devices, andsystems for managing corrosion within chassis. To manage corrosion, asystem in accordance with embodiments of the invention may (i) reducethe likelihood of corrosion occurring, (ii) monitoring the occurrence ofcorrosion, and (iii) based on the monitoring, modify the internalenvironment of a chassis to reduce the prevalence of corrosion and/orreduce the amount of power used for environmental management purposes.

By doing so, embodiments of the invention may reduce the likelihood ofcomponents prematurely failing due to corrosion while limiting powerconsumption. By reducing the likelihood of the occurrence of prematurefailures of computing components, the computing devices disposed withinthe chassis (100A) may be more likely to meet their respective servicelife goals, have lower operation costs, and/or require fewer repairsduring their respective service life. For additional details regardingthe computing components (140), refer to FIGS. 1.4-1.5.

To manage the internal environment (104) of the chassis, the chassis(100A) may include a chassis environmental manager (150). The chassisenvironmental manager (150) may provide environmental managementservices. Environmental management services may include (i) obtaininginformation regarding the rates of corrosion occurring within thechassis, (ii) determining, based on the corrosion rates, whether thedevices within the chassis are likely to meet their service life goals,and (iii) modifying the operation (e.g., modifying operating points) ofenvironmental control components (152) and/or characteristics of gasestaken into the chassis to reduce the likelihood of premature failure ofcomponents disposed within the chassis (100A) due to corrosion and/orreduce the amount of power consumed for environmental managementpurposes. For additional details regarding the chassis environmentalmanager (150), refer to FIG. 2.

While illustrated in FIG. 1.3 as a physical structure, as will bediscussed with respect to FIG. 2, the chassis environmental manager(150) may be implemented as a logical entity (e.g., a program executingusing the computing components (140)). For example, a computing devicedisposed in the chassis may host a program that provides thefunctionality of the chassis environmental manager (150).

To enable the chassis environmental manager (150) to provide itsfunctionality, the chassis (100A) may include one or more detectors(e.g., 154, 156). These detectors may enable the rates of corrosion ofvarious components disposed within the chassis (100A) to be determinedand/or environmental conditions within the chassis to be determined.These detectors may be implemented as sensors or other types of physicaldevices that are operably connected to the chassis environmental manager(150). Any number of corrosion detectors (e.g., 154), temperaturedetectors (e.g., 156), humidity detectors (e.g., 156), and/or othertypes of detectors may be disposed at any number of locations throughoutthe chassis (100A).

In some embodiments of the invention, the functionality of a temperaturedetector may be provided by, in all or in part, the computing components(140). For example, the computing components (140) may includefunctionality to report their respective temperatures and/ortemperatures of the internal environment (104) of the chassis (100A).For additional details regarding corrosion detectors, refer to FIG. 1.5.

The chassis (100A) may also include environmental control components(152). The environmental control components (152) may include physicaldevices that include functionality to modify characteristics (e.g.,temperature, humidity level, airflow rates/directions) of the internalenvironment (104) of the chassis (100A). The chassis (100A) may includeany number of environmental control components disposed at any number oflocations within the chassis.

For example, the environmental control components (152) may include gasmovers such as fans. The fans may be able to modify the rate of gasesbeing taken into and expelled from the chassis (100A) through the airexchangers (e.g., 102). The rate of intake and exhaust of gases maycause an airflow to be generated within the internal environment (104).The airflow may be used to modify the rate of thermal exchange betweenthe computing components (140) and the internal environment (104) (e.g.,an environment proximate to the computing components (140)).

In another example, the environmental control components (152) mayinclude heaters. The heaters may be able to modify the temperature ofthe internal environment (104). For example, heaters may be disposed ata front of the chassis (e.g., where gases are taken into the chassis)and/or about different locations within the chassis. These heaters maybe used to generally and/or locally heat the internal environment (104).By doing so, the relative humidity level and temperature of the internalenvironment (104) proximate to the computing components (140) and/ordifferent components may be controlled. The temperature and/or relativehumidity level may be utilized to limit, reduce, or otherwise controlcorrosion rates of the computing components (140).

In a still further example, the environmental control components (152)may include components that are not disposed in the chassis (not shown).For example, the environmental control components may include an airflowconditioner discussed with respect to FIG. 1.2. These externalcomponents may be used in conjunction with the environment controlcomponents disposed within the chassis to manage the temperature and/orrelative humidity levels throughout the internal environment (104) ofthe chassis.

The chassis (100A) may include any number and type of environmentalcontrol components without departing from the invention. Any of theenvironmental control components may be implemented using physicaldevices operably connected to and/or controllable by the chassisenvironmental manager (150) and/or a system environmental manager (e.g.,130, FIG. 1.2) (alone or in combination). Any number of chassisenvironmental managers and system environmental managers maycooperatively operate to control the temperature and/or relativehumidity levels of the internal environments of any number of chassis tocontrol the rate of corrosion occurring within the chassis and/or managethe thermal load generated by the computing components (140) and/orother components.

To cooperatively operate, the chassis environmental managers and systemenvironmental managers may be operably connected to one another (e.g.,via wired and/or wireless networks). The aforementioned components mayshare information with one another (e.g., detector data, operating setpoints of different environmental control components, etc.). Thesecomponents may implement any type of model for controlling and/ordelegating control of the system for temperature, relative humiditylevel, and/or corrosion rate management purposes. When providing theirrespective functionalities, these components may perform all, or aportion, of the method illustrated in FIG. 3. Any of these componentsmay be implemented using a computing device. For additional detailsregarding computing devices, refer to FIG. 4.

While the chassis (100A) of FIG. 1.3 has been illustrated as including alimited number of specific components, a chassis in accordance with oneor more embodiments of the invention may include additional, fewer,and/or different components without departing from the invention.Additionally, while the chassis (100A) is illustrated as having aspecific form factor (e.g., rack mount), a chassis in accordance withembodiments of the invention may have different form factors withoutdeparting from the invention.

As discussed above, the chassis (100A) may house computing components(140). Turning to FIG. 1.4, FIG. 1.4 shows a diagram of computingcomponents (140) in accordance with one or more embodiments of theinvention. The computing components (140) may enable computing devicesto provide services, as discussed above.

The computing components (140) may include any number of hardwaredevices (142). The hardware devices (142) may include, for example,packaged integrated circuits (e.g., chips). The hardware devices (142)may enable any number and type of functionalities to be performed by acomputing device.

The computing components (140) may also include a circuit card (144).The circuit card (144) may enable any of the hardware devices (142) tobe operably connected to one another and/or other components notillustrated in FIG. 1.4. For example, the circuit card (144) may be amultiplayer multilayer printed circuit board that includes circuitry.

The circuit card (144) may include traces (146) that electricallyinterconnect various hardware devices (142) to one another and/or othercomponents not illustrated in FIG. 1.4. The traces (146) may be formedout of conductive materials, such as, copper thereby enabling electricalpower to be provided to the hardware devices (142), electrical signalsto be distributed among the hardware devices (142), etc.

Returning to the hardware devices (142), these devices may consumeelectrical power and generate heat as a byproduct of performing theirfunctionality. Further, the hardware devices (142) may have somesensitivity to temperature. For example, the hardware devices (142) mayonly operate nominally (e.g., as designed) when the temperatures of therespective hardware devices (142) are maintained within a preferredtemperature range. Consequently, all, or a portion, of the hardwaredevices (142) may require some level of cooling to continue to operatenominally.

As discussed above, to facilitate cooling of the hardware devices (142),airflows within the chassis may be generated by environmental controlcomponents such as fans, heaters, etc. The airflows may cause gases thatare at different temperatures and/or relative humidity levels to betaken into the chassis, used for cooling purposes, and then expelledfrom the chassis.

However, this process may be problematic because the gases used forcooling purposes may also contribute to corrosion being formed on, forexample, the traces (146), interconnections between the traces (146) andthe hardware devices (142), etc. For example, when the traces (146) areexposed to gases that include humidity, the metals of the traces (146)may react with the gases thereby forming corrosion.

The corrosion may, if kept to a low level, not impact the ability of thehardware devices (142) to perform their functionality over the course ofthe desired lifetime (e.g., service life) of a computing device. Incontrast, if the rate of corrosion increases to a high enough level, thecorrosion may negatively impact the ability of the hardware devices(142) to perform their respective functionalities to a level that causesthe computing device to fail. Consequently, the computing device andcorresponding IHS may fail prior to it meeting its desired service lifedue to corrosion.

For example, if an IHS has a desired service life of 5 years, corrosionmay cause one of the traces (146) to fail prior to 5 years of servicethereby causing the IHS to prematurely fail.

To reduce the impact of corrosion on the traces (146), hardware devices(142), and/or other components, the computing components (140) mayinclude any number of corrosion management components (148). Asdiscussed above, a corrosion management component may provide corrosionmanagement services. The corrosion management services may reduce therates of corrosion of the traces (146) and/or hardware devices (142)even when exposed to an environment that would cause these components tocorrode.

The corrosion management components (148) may reduce the rates ofcorrosion of corresponding components. To reduce the rates of corrosion,the corrosion management components (148) may modify the chemicalreactivity of the components. By modifying the reactivity of thecomponents (e.g., traces, pins of hardware devices, etc.), thecomponents may be less likely to form corrosion when exposed to gasesthat include humidity or reactive chemical specifies. Consequently, therates of corrosion of the components may be reduced thereby enablingcomponents to be used in less conditioned environments while stillmeeting service life goals.

For additional details regarding the corrosion management components,refer to FIG. 1.5.

While the computing components (140) are illustrated in FIG. 1.4 asincluding specific numbers and specific types of components, computingcomponent in accordance with one or more embodiments of the inventionmay include additional, different, and/or fewer components withoutdeparting from the invention.

Turning to FIG. 1.5, FIG. 1.5 shows a diagram of computing componentsincluding corrosion management components in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the invention. As discussed above, hardware componentssuch as chips (e.g., 160), discrete components (e.g., 161), and traces(146) may be subject to corrosion. To manage the corrosion risk of thesecomponents, any number of discrete and/or integrated corrosionmanagement components may be utilized.

A discrete corrosion management component (e.g., 164) may be a physicaldevice. The physical device may be adapted to be placed in contact witha to-be-managed component. The physical device may have properties thatcause the to-be-managed to corrode at reduced rates.

To do so, the physical device may form a potential cell based on adifference in chemical composition between the physical device and to-bemanaged component. For example, consider a scenario in which theto-be-managed component is a trace formed out of copper. In such ascenario, the physical device may be formed from zinc or other materialthat forms a potential cell with copper. The potential cell may apply avoltage potential between these two components. Consequently, thechemical reactivity of the trace may be reduced. Accordingly, the rateof corrosion of the trace may be reduced to a low level even when anenvironment in which the trace resides would lead to a high rate ofcorrosion of the trace absent the discrete corrosion managementcomponent.

In one or more embodiments of the invention, the discrete corrosionmanagement components (164) are implemented as surface mount form factordevices. In other words, the discrete corrosion management components(164) may have a form factor that enables the discrete corrosionmanagement components (164) to be easily integrated into printed circuitboard based devices. The discrete corrosion management components (164)may have other form factors without departing from the invention.

An integrated corrosion management component (e.g., 162, 163) may be aphysical layer, conductive via, or other form factor of material placedon a to-be-managed component. Like the discrete corrosion managementcomponents (164), the integrated management components (e.g., 162) maybe formed from a material that forms a potential cell with managedcomponents. The potential cell may reduce the rate of corrosion of themanaged components when compared to the managed component's rate ofcorrosion in isolation.

The integrated corrosion management components may include traceintegrated corrosion management components (162) and via integratedcorrosion management components. For additional details regarding traceintegrated corrosion management components (162), refer to FIGS.1.6-1.8.

A via integrated management components may be implemented as throughhole vias (e.g., a conductive structure that traversed through one ormore layers of circuit card, may include pads on any number ofmetallization layers of a circuit card to enable electricalinterconnections between metallization layers to be formed). In contrastto a traditional, plated through hole via that only provide electricalconnectivity functionality, a via integrated corrosion managementcomponent (163) may provide both electrical connectivity functionalityand corrosion management functionality.

To do so, a corrosion management material may be included in the via.For example, traditionally hollow portions of a via (or filled portionsmay be replaced with) may be filled with a corrosion managementmaterial. The corrosion management material may be deposited in and/oron the vias using any method (e.g., pastes including the corrosionmanagement material may be deposited into the hollow portions of thevias and processed to form a layer of corrosion management materialdeposited on the surface and/or interior of the via).

By doing so, the vias between metallization layers may act as bothcorrosion management components and electrically conductive structures.Consequently, when the traces, chips, and/or other componentselectrically attached to the vias are exposed to corrosive environments,the via integrated corrosion management components may prevent and/orreduce the rates of corrosion of these components (at the cost of thecorrosion management materials of the via integrated corrosionmanagement components corroding).

Any number and type of discrete corrosion management components and/ortrace integrated corrosion management components (162) may be integratedwith computing components to manage the corrosion risk of the computingcomponents.

Turning to FIGS. 1.6-1.9, these figures show cross sectional diagrams oftrace integrated corrosion management components and traces havingdifferent geometries that may be utilized for corrosion managementpurposes in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

Turning to FIG. 1.6, FIG. 1.6 shows a cross section diagram of a firsttrace integrated corrosion management component in accordance with oneor more embodiments of the invention. As noted above, the traceintegrated corrosion management component may be used to reduce the rateof corrosion of a component (e.g., a trace).

The trace integrated corrosion management component may include acorrosion management layer (174) disposed on a conductive layer (172)(e.g., a trace). The corrosion management layer (174) may be disposed ona surface of the conductive layer (172) opposite of a circuit card (170)on which the conductive layer (172) is disposed.

In one or more embodiments of the invention, the corrosion managementlayer (174) is implemented as a layer of zinc, or other material thatmay form a potential cell with the conductive layer (172). The corrosionmanagement layer (174) may be in direct contact with the conductivelayer.

The corrosion management layer (174) and conductive layer (172) may beformed using any suitable manufacturing methodology. For example, asurface of the circuit card (170) may be plated in copper. A layer ofzinc may then be deposited on the copper plating. The layers of zinc andcopper may then be etched (e.g., masked and exposed to etchingsolutions) to form the structure illustrated in FIG. 1.6.

Turning to FIG. 1.7, FIG. 1.7 shows a cross section diagram of a secondtrace integrated corrosion management component in accordance with oneor more embodiments of the invention. As noted above, the second traceintegrated corrosion management component may be used to reduce the rateof corrosion of a component (e.g., a trace).

The second trace integrated corrosion management component may include acorrosion management layer (174) disposed between a conductive layer(172) (e.g., a trace) and a circuit card (170). The corrosion managementlayer (174) may be, partially or totally, encapsulated by the conductivelayer (172) and/or the circuit card (170).

In one or more embodiments of the invention, the corrosion managementlayer (174) is implemented as a layer of zinc, or other material thatmay form a potential cell with the conductive layer (172). The corrosionmanagement layer (174) may be in direct contact with the conductivelayer.

The corrosion management layer (174) and conductive layer (172) may beformed using any suitable manufacturing methodology. For example, asurface of the circuit card (170) may be plated in zinc or othermaterial to form a sacrificial anode (e.g., the corrosion managementlayer (174)). The layer of zinc be etched (e.g., masked and exposed toetching solutions) to form the corrosion management layer (174)illustrated in FIG. 1.6. The corrosion management layer (174) may thenbe plated in copper or other appropriate metal to form the structureillustrated in FIG. 1.7.

Turning to FIG. 1.8, FIG. 1.8 shows a cross section diagram of a thirdtrace integrated corrosion management component in accordance with oneor more embodiments of the invention. As noted above, the third traceintegrated corrosion management component may be used to reduce the rateof corrosion of a component (e.g., a trace).

The third trace integrated corrosion management component may include acorrosion management layer (174) disposed between a conductive layer(172) (e.g., a trace) and a circuit card (170). A portion (e.g., sidewalls of the layer) of the corrosion management layer (174) may beexposed (e.g., not encapsulated by the conductive layer (172) and/orcircuit card (170)).

In one or more embodiments of the invention, the corrosion managementlayer (174) is implemented as a layer of zinc, or other material thatmay form a potential cell with the conductive layer (172). The corrosionmanagement layer (174) may be in direct contact with the conductivelayer.

The corrosion management layer (174) and conductive layer (172) may beformed using any suitable manufacturing methodology. For example, asurface of the circuit card (170) may be plated in zinc. A layer ofcopper may then be disposed on the zinc layer. The layer of copper andzinc be etched (e.g., masked and exposed to etching solutions) to formthe corrosion management layer (174) and conductive layer (172)illustrated in FIG. 1.6.

Turning to FIG. 1.9, FIG. 1.9 shows a cross section diagram of a fourthtrace integrated corrosion management component in accordance with oneor more embodiments of the invention. As noted above, the fourth traceintegrated corrosion management component may be used to reduce the rateof corrosion of a component (e.g., a trace).

The fourth trace integrated corrosion management component may include acorrosion management layer (174) disposed on a surface of a conductivelayer (172) (e.g., a trace) opposite of a circuit card (170). Thecorrosion management layer (174) may be narrower in width than theconductive layer (172) thereby only covering a portion of the surfaceopposite of the circuit card (170).

In one or more embodiments of the invention, the corrosion managementlayer (174) is implemented as a layer of zinc, or other material thatmay form a potential cell with the conductive layer (172). The corrosionmanagement layer (174) may be in direct contact with the conductivelayer.

The corrosion management layer (174) and conductive layer (172) may beformed using any suitable manufacturing methodology. For example, asurface of the circuit card (170) may be plated in copper and etched toform the conductive layer (172). A layer of zinc may then be depositedon the conductive layer (172). For example, the zinc may be depositedvia silk screen printing or other additive deposition technology. Thedeposited layer may then be functionalized (e.g., heated or otherwiseactivated to remove binders/other materials included in a paste or othermaterial to facilitate deposition of the material on the conductivelayer (172)). Functionalizing the deposited material may form thecorrosion management layer (174).

Any of the methods of integrating corrosion management components (e.g.,discrete and/or integrated) illustrated in FIGS. 1.4-1.9 may be utilizedseparately or in isolation. For example, a computing device may includeany number of components which integrate any number of theseimplementations for managing corrosion.

Additionally, any of the trace integrated corrosion managementcomponents shown in FIGS. 1.6-1.9 may extend along any length of atrace. For example, a trace integrated corrosion management componentmay only extend along a portion of the length of the trace. Byintegrating the corrosion management portion along a portion of thetrace, the rest of the trace may also be provided with the benefits ofreduced corrosion rates. Consequently, only a limited number of discretecorrosion management components and/or trace integrated corrosionmanagement components may need to be integrated into a computing deviceto impart desired levels of corrosion rate reduction.

Further, in some embodiments of the invention, only a limited number ofcorrosion management components may be integrated into a computingdevice. The corrosion management components may be strategically placedat locations that are of higher likelihood to be subject to corrosion.For additional details regarding selective placement of corrosionmanagement components, refer to FIG. 1.10.

FIG. 1.10 shows a top view diagram of a chassis (180) in accordance withembodiments of the invention. The chassis may house computing componentsincluding, for example, a processor (186), memory modules (188), traces(190) that interconnect the processor and memory modules, and diskdrives (e.g., 192). Each of these components may be subject to corrosiondepending on the environment within the chassis.

Additionally, each of these components may generate heat when providingtheir functionality. To manage the heat generated by these components,the chassis (180) may include fans (197). The fans (197) may generate anairflow (196) that extracts the heat generated by the components.

For example, the airflow (196) may draw in gases from an air source(198) that are at a lower temperature than the components, pass thegases proximate to the components to cause thermal exchange between thegases and the components to occur, and then expel the heated gases. Bydoing so, the interior of the chassis (180) may be cooled.

However, due to the geometry of the chassis (180) and direction of theairflow (196), the airflow (196) may increase in temperature as itpasses through the chassis (180). Accordingly, the interior of thechassis (180) may include a hot zone (184) and a cool zone (182). In thehot zone (184), the airflow (196) may be at an elevated temperature whencompared to the airflow (196) in the cool zone (182). Consequently, thecomputing components in the hot zone (184) may corrode at rates muchlower than the components in the cool zone (182).

To efficiently utilize corrosion management components, a chassis (180)in accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention may includecorrosion management components at locations that are likely to corrodeat rates that may lead to premature failure. For example, the diskdrives included in chassis (180) may be corrosion management componentintegrated disk drives (192). The circuit cards and other portions ofthese devices may include discrete and/or integrated corrosionmanagement components. These devices may include corrosion managementcomponents may due to the location in the chassis in which they reside.For example, components are lower temperature may generally be at higherrisk of corrosion due to humidity in the airflow.

Similarly, these components may be subject to corrosion due tochemically reactive species in the airflow. Other components (e.g., theprocessor (186), memory modules (188), and traces (190)) may be lesslikely to corrode and/or corrode at slower rates because (i) they are atelevated temperature which results in decreased relative humidity and(ii) there is likely a lower concentration of reactive chemicallyspecifies in the airflow (196) because components upstream of them inthe airflow (196) already reacted with them thereby removing them fromthe airflow (196) (or otherwise mitigating their potential forchemically reacting).

To manage the corrosion risk in the chassis (180), an environmentalmanager (not shown) may monitor detectors (194) that characterize theenvironmental conditions within the chassis (180). Based on themonitoring, the environmental manager may take action to addresscorrosion threats. However, when making such determinations, theenvironmental manager may take into account the presence of thecorrosion management components.

To do so, the environmental manager may adjust predicted rates ofcorrosion of components if the components are associated with corrosionmanagement components. For example, the detectors (194) may be used tomeasure the temperature and relative humidity levels within the chassis.These measurements may be used to predict rates of corrosion that occurwithin the chassis based on the composition of the components (e.g.,copper metal). If a component is associated with a corrosion managementcomponent, the predicted rate of corrosion based on the composition ofthe component may be modified. The rate may be modified by a riskreduction factor associated with the corrosion management component.Consequently, when the environmental manager makes a determinationregarding how to modify environmental conditions within the chassis(180) to manage corrosion, the environmental manager may do so based onlikely modifications to the corrosion rates of components imparted bythe corrosion management components.

While the chassis (180) is illustrated in FIG. 1.10 as having only onehot zone (184) and one cool zone (182), a chassis in accordance withembodiments of the invention may include any number of hot and coldzones having any shapes and sizes disposed throughout the chassis (180).For example, due to a shadow effect of a component upstream one of thedisk drives, one or more of the disk drives (e.g., 192) may receivesubstantially less airflow thereby resulting in the disk drive being atan elevated temperature than the other disk drives. Consequently, thatdisk drive, in contrast to the other disk drives, may not be subject tocorrosion risk by virtue of its generally elevated temperature.Accordingly, that disk drive may not include corrosion managementcomponents.

In another example, the memory modules (188) may not generatesignificant amounts of thermal energy and may not be downstream of othercomponents that generate large amounts of heat. Accordingly, in contrastto the processor (186) that may naturally generate large amounts of heatand maintain a higher temperature, the memory modules (188) may be in acool zone. Consequently, corrosion management components may beintegrated with the memory modules (188) to reduce the rates ofcorrosion of the components while corrosion management components maynot be integrated with the traces (190) or processor (186).

To reduce the likelihood of premature failure of IHSs, an IHS inaccordance with embodiments of the invention may include anenvironmental manager. Turning to FIG. 2, FIG. 2 shows a diagram of anenvironmental manager (200) in accordance with one or more embodimentsof the invention. The system environmental manager (130) and/or chassisenvironmental manager (150) illustrated in FIGS. 1.2 and 1.3,respectively, may be similar to the environmental manager (200). Thefunctionality of the environmental manager may be provided in part, orentirely, by any number of system environmental managers (e.g., 130,FIG. 1.2) and/or chassis environmental managers (e.g., 150, FIG. 1.3)

As discussed above, the environmental manager (200) may provideenvironmental management services. Environmental management services mayreduce the likelihood that IHSs fail prematurely (e.g., prior to meetingservice life goals) due to corrosion of components of the IHSs.

In one or more embodiments of the invention, the environmental manager(200) is implemented using computing devices. The computing devices maybe, for example, mobile phones, tablet computers, laptop computers,desktop computers, servers, distributed computing systems, embeddedcomputing devices, or a cloud resource. The computing devices mayinclude one or more processors, memory (e.g., random access memory), andpersistent storage (e.g., disk drives, solid state drives, etc.). Thepersistent storage may store computer instructions, e.g., computer code,that (when executed by the processor(s) of the computing device) causethe computing device to provide the functionality of the environmentalmanager (200) described through this application and all, or a portion,of the method illustrated in FIG. 3. The environmental manager (200) maybe implemented using other types of computing devices without departingfrom the invention. For additional details regarding computing devices,refer to FIG. 4.

In one or more embodiments of the invention, the environmental manager(200) is implemented using distributed computing devices. As usedherein, a distributed computing device refers to functionality providedby a logical device that utilizes the computing resources of one or moreseparate and/or distinct computing devices. For example, in one or moreembodiments of the invention, the environmental manager (200) isimplemented using distributed devices that include componentsdistributed across any number of separate and/or distinct computingdevices. In such a scenario, the functionality of the environmentalmanager (200) may be performed by multiple, different computing deviceswithout departing from the invention.

To provide environmental management services, the environmental manager(200) may include an environmental component manager (202) and a storage(204). Each of these components is discussed below.

The environmental component manager (202) may manage the components ofthe chassis and/or other components that may be used to control thecharacteristics (e.g., temperature, humidity level, airflow rates, etc.)of the internal environment of the chassis. To manage them, theenvironmental component manager (202) may (i) obtain informationregarding the environmental conditions within the chassis includingtemperatures, humidity levels, airflow rates, and/or corrosion rates,(ii) determine, using the environmental information, whether the IHS islikely to prematurely fail due to corrosion, and (iii) if the IHS isunlikely to meet its service life goals due to premature failure, modifythe characteristics of the internal environment of the chassis toimprove the likelihood that the IHS will meet its service life goals.

To obtain information regarding the environmental conditions, theenvironmental component manager (202) may request such information fromcomputing components (e.g., temperatures), detectors (e.g., corrosion,temperature, humidity, and/or other types of sensors), and/or othertypes of devices (e.g., components external to the chassis). Inresponse, the aforementioned components may provide the requestedinformation to the environmental component manager (202). Theenvironmental component manager (202) may store the aforementionedinformation as part of an environmental condition repository (208).

To ascertain whether an IHS is likely to prematurely fail due tocorrosion, the environmental component manager (202) may estimate atotal amount of corrosion that has likely occurred, estimate the ratethat will occur in the future, and use the previous amount and currentrate of one or more components to determine whether the computing deviceis likely to prematurely fail. To generate the estimates, theenvironmental component manager (202) take into account environmentalconditions and whether any of the components are associated withcorrosion management components that may reduce the rates of corrosionof the corresponding components.

Utilizing these estimates, the environmental component manager (202) maydetermine whether the computing devices are unlikely to meet its servicelife goal due to corrosion. To make this determination, theenvironmental component manager (202) may utilize a lifecycle repository(212). The lifecycle repository (212) may specify information that maybe used to ascertain whether a premature failure will occur based oncorrosion. For example, the lifecycle repository (212) may specify atotal amount of corrosion that will cause various components of acomputing device to fail. Based on this aggregate amount and thecorrosion rate associated with the component, the environmentalcomponent manager (202) may ascertain whether the amount of corrosionspecified by the lifecycle repository (212) will be exceeded prior tothe occurrence of the service life of the IHS.

If it is determined that the IHS will prematurely fail, theenvironmental component manager (202) may modify the operation of one ormore environmental control components to reduce the corrosion ratewithin the chassis. For example, the environmental component manager(202) may increase the ambient temperature within the chassis, decreasethe relative humidity level, modify airflow rates within the chassis,and/or otherwise modify the internal environment of the chassis toreduce the rate that corrosion occurs in the chassis. By doing so, thepoint in time at which the IHS is likely to fail due to corrosion may bepushed into the future thereby reducing the likelihood that the IHS willprematurely fail ahead of its service life being completed.

When providing its functionality, the environmental component manager(202) may utilize the storage (204) by storing and using previouslystored data structures.

To provide the above noted functionality of the environmental componentmanager (202), the environmental component manager (202) may performall, or a portion, of the method illustrated in FIG. 3.

In one or more embodiments of the invention, the environmental componentmanager (202) is implemented using a hardware device includingcircuitry. The environmental component manager (202) may be implementedusing, for example, a digital signal processor, a field programmablegate array, or an application specific integrated circuit. Theenvironmental component manager (202) may be implemented using othertypes of hardware devices without departing from the invention.

In one or more embodiments of the invention, the environmental componentmanager (202) is implemented using computing code stored on a persistentstorage that when executed by a processor performs all, or a portion, ofthe functionality of the environmental component manager (202). Theprocessor may be a hardware processor including circuitry such as, forexample, a central processing unit or a microcontroller. The processormay be other types of hardware devices for processing digitalinformation without departing from the invention.

In one or more embodiments disclosed herein, the storage (204) isimplemented using devices that provide data storage services (e.g.,storing data and providing copies of previously stored data). Thedevices that provide data storage services may include hardware devicesand/or logical devices. For example, storage (204) may include anyquantity and/or combination of memory devices (i.e., volatile storage),long term storage devices (i.e., persistent storage), other types ofhardware devices that may provide short term and/or long term datastorage services, and/or logical storage devices (e.g., virtualpersistent storage/virtual volatile storage).

For example, storage (204) may include a memory device (e.g., a dual inline memory device) in which data is stored and from which copies ofpreviously stored data are provided. In another example, storage (204)may include a persistent storage device (e.g., a solid state disk drive)in which data is stored and from which copies of previously stored dataare provided. In a still further example, storage (204) may include (i)a memory device (e.g., a dual in line memory device) in which data isstored and from which copies of previously stored data are provided and(ii) a persistent storage device that stores a copy of the data storedin the memory device (e.g., to provide a copy of the data in the eventthat power loss or other issues with the memory device that may impactits ability to maintain the copy of the data cause the memory device tolose the data).

The storage (204) may store data structures including an environmentalcondition repository (208), a corrosion rate repository (210), and alifecycle repository (212). Each of these data structures is discussedbelow.

The environmental condition repository (208) may include one or moredata structures that include information regarding the environmentalconditions within a chassis. For example, when temperature, humidity,airflow rate, and/or corrosion data is read from a detector, the readinformation may be stored in the environmental condition repository(208). Consequently, a historical record of the environmental conditionsin the repository may be maintained.

In some embodiments of the invention, the environmental conditionrepository (208) may only include the most up to date informationregarding the environmental conditions within the chassis. For example,only the most recent detector readings may be stored in theenvironmental condition repository (208).

The environmental condition repository (208) may include any type andquantity of information regarding the environmental conditions withinthe repository. For example, the environmental condition repository(208) may include temperature sensor data from discrete temperaturesensors and/or temperature sensors integrated into computing components(and/or other types of devices). In another example, the environmentalcondition repository (208) may include corrosion rates from discrete orintegrated corrosion detectors (e.g., on board a circuit card). In astill further example, the environmental condition repository (208) mayinclude airflow rate data regarding the flow of gases within a chassis.

In addition to the sensor data, the environmental condition repository(208) may include spatial data regarding the relative locations ofcomponents within a chassis. For example, some components may bedisposed away from the detectors. Consequently, it may not be possibleto directly measure the temperature, relative humidity level, airflowrates, and/or corrosion of such components. The spatial data may be usedto estimate, using measured temperatures and/or corrosion, the likelycorrosion rates of the components.

Additionally, the environmental condition repository (208) may includeinformation regarding whether components are associated with corrosionmanagement components. For components that are associated with corrosionmanagement components, the environmental condition repository (208) mayspecify correction factors with respect to the rates of corrosion ofthese components for corresponding environmental conditions. Forexample, if a component has a measured temperature of 70° Fahrenheit and70% relative humidity, the environmental condition repository (208) mayspecify that the component has a high rate of corrosion. However, if thecomponent is associated with a corrosion management component, theenvironmental condition repository (208) may specify a risk reductionfactor that may be applied to the corrosion rate to obtain an estimateof the corrosion rate of the component that takes into account thepresence of the corrosion management component.

The corrosion rate repository (210) may include one or more datastructures that include information regarding the rates at whichcomponents disposed in the chassis have corroded. For example, thecorrosion rate repository (210) may include tables associated withdifferent components disposed within the chassis. Each of these tablesmay include the measured and/or estimated corrosion of the components.

The tables may also include the time at which the corrosion wasmeasured. Consequently, the rates of corrosion of the components may beascertained using the information included in the tables (e.g.,corrosion at time T1−corrosion at time T2/the different between T1 andT2).

The lifecycle repository (212) may include one or more data structuresthat include information regarding the desired life of componentsdisposed in a chassis of an information handling system. For example,the lifecycle repository (212) may specify how much corrosion may occurwith respect to different components before the respective componentsare likely to fail. The aforementioned information may be used inconjunction with determined corrosion rates and quantities of corrosionincluded in the corrosion rate repository (210) to determine whether itis likely that a component, computing device, and/or IHS is likely tofail prior to its desired service life.

While the data structures stored in storage (204) have been described asincluding a limited amount of specific information, any of the datastructures stored in storage (204) may include additional, less, and/ordifferent information without departing from the embodiments disclosedherein. Further, the aforementioned data structures may be combined,subdivided into any number of data structures, may be stored in otherlocations (e.g., in a storage hosted by another device), and/or spannedacross any number of devices without departing from the embodimentsdisclosed herein. Any of these data structures may be implemented using,for example, lists, table, linked lists, databases, or any other type ofdata structures usable for storage of the aforementioned information.

While the environmental manager (200) of FIG. 2 has been described andillustrated as including a limited number of specific components for thesake of brevity, an environmental manager in accordance with embodimentsof the invention may include additional, fewer, and/or differentcomponents than those illustrated in FIG. 2 without departing from theinvention.

Further, any of the components may be implemented as a service spanningmultiple devices. For example, multiple computing devices housed inmultiple chassis may each run respective instances of the environmentalcomponent manager (202). Each of these instances may communicate andcooperate to provide the functionality of the environmental componentmanager (202).

Returning to FIG. 2, the environmental manager (200) may provideenvironmental services. FIG. 3 illustrates a method that may beperformed by the environmental manager (200) of FIG. 2 when providingenvironmental management services.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of a method in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the invention. The method depicted in FIG. 3 may be usedto manage the internal environment of a chassis in accordance with oneor more embodiments of the invention. The method shown in FIG. 3 may beperformed by, for example, an environmental manager (e.g., 200, FIG. 2).Other components of the system illustrated in FIGS. 1.1-1.10 may performall, or a portion, of the method of FIG. 3 without departing from theinvention.

While FIG. 3 is illustrated as a series of steps, any of the steps maybe omitted, performed in a different order, additional steps may beincluded, and/or any or all of the steps may be performed in a paralleland/or partially overlapping manner without departing from theinvention.

In step 300, a component subject to corrosion related failure isidentified. The component may be identified using information includedin a lifecycle repository. For example, the lifecycle repository mayinclude a list of components that are subject to corrosion relatedfailure. Any of these components included in the list may be theidentified component.

In step 302, an environmental corrosion risk associated with thecomponent is identified. The environmental corrosion risk may beidentified based on detector measurements of the environment in whichthe component resides. For example, the temperature, relative humiditylevel, and/or other conditions that may impact corrosion may bemonitored using detectors. These environmental conditions may be used asthe environmental corrosion risk.

These measurements may be used to estimate the corrosion of thecomponent over time. For example, as a computing device operates, itscomponents may be subject to corrosion. The temperature, relativehumidity level, and/or other environmental conditions may be used todetermine how much the component has corroded over time. The result maybe a listing of total corrosion (and/or rates over time) of a componentover time.

In step 304, it is determined whether the component is associated with acorrosion management component. The determination may be made based oninformation included in an environmental condition repository (208, FIG.2). The environmental condition repository may specify each componentthat is associated with a corrosion management component. Theenvironmental condition repository may also specify correction factorsthat are associated with the corrosion management component associatedwith the component.

If it is determined that the component is not associated with anycorrosion management components, the method may proceed to step 306. Ifit is determined that the component is associated with a corrosionmanagement component, the method may proceed to step 308.

In step 306, a corrosion risk of the component is estimated based on theenvironmental corrosion risk. For example, the environmental corrosionrisk may be associated with corresponding levels of corrosion based on acomposition of the component. The association may be determined in alaboratory environment and provided (e.g., stored in storage of orotherwise made available to) to an environmental manager.

For example, the corrosion risk of the component may be functionallyrelated to the environmental corrosion risk. The corrosion risk of thecomponent may be computed by providing the environmental corrosion riskas input to the functional relationship.

The relationship between environmental conditions and corrosion risk maybe used to generate a time sequence of the corrosion of the componentover time.

Returning to step 304, the method may proceed to step 308 following step304 if it is determined that the component is associated with acorrosion management component.

In step 308, a corrosion risk of the component is estimated based on (i)the environmental corrosion risk and (ii) a risk reduction factorassociated with the corrosion management component.

As discussed with respect to step 306, the corrosion risk of thecomponent (e.g., how quickly the component is corroding) may befunctionally related to the environmental corrosion risk. To take intoaccount the presence of the corrosion management component, a riskreduction factor (e.g., correction factor) may be applied to the outputof the functional relationship to obtain the estimate of the corrosionrisk of the component. In other words, the corrosion risk of thecomponent based only on the environmental risk may be first calculated.Then, a risk reduction factor may be applied to obtain the corrosionrisk of the component to reflect it being associated (e.g., in directcontact with) with a corrosion management component.

The risk reduction factor may be based on, for example, the type,material composition, shape, method of integration with the component,and/or characteristics of the component (e.g., shape, materialcomposition, etc.). The risk reduction factor may be determined based onlaboratory measurement and may be provided to the environmental managerprior to the performance of the method illustrated in FIG. 3.

The result of applying the risk reduction factor a time sequence of thecorrosion of the component over time.

The method may proceed to step 310 follow step 306 and/or step 308.

In step 310, it is determined whether the corrosion risk of thecomponent indicates a premature failure of the component. Thedetermination may be made by using the corrosion risk of the componentto determine whether the component is likely to prematurely fail beforethe service life the component is met. For example, it may be assumedthat the rate of corrosion indicated by the corrosion risk of thecomponent will remain constant and the duration of time between thecurrent point in time and the future point in time at which failure islikely to occur may be determined. The future point in time may then becompared to the service life of the component to ascertain whether therate of corrosion will result in a premature failure that occurs priorto the service life of the component being met. The service life of thecomponent may be specified by a lifecycle repository.

The determination may be made by comparing the amount of corrosion ofthe component that has occurred and the corrosion rate to a maximumamount of corrosion that can occur before failure of the component islikely (e.g., specified in a lifecycle repository). In other words,solving the equation C_(f)=C_(c)+T*C_(r) where C_(f) is the amount ofcorrosion that can occur before premature failure is likely to occur,C_(c) is the amount of corrosion that has already occurred, C_(r) is thecorrosion rate determined in steps 306 and/or 308, and T is the unknownamount of time until premature failure will occur due to corrosion. Ifthe amount of time until premature failure indicates that failure of thecomponent will occur before the desired service life of the componentoccurs, it is determined that the corrosion rates indicates a prematurefailure of the component will occur.

In one or more embodiments of the invention, the determination is madeby estimating the future rates of corrosion (and/or total amounts ofcorrosion) using a predictive model. The predictive model may be, forexample, machine learning, a stochastic method, a regression technique(e.g., linear regression/curve fitting), or any other method of usinghistorical data to predict future data.

The historical corrosion and/or corrosion rates obtained in steps 306and/or 308 may be used as training data to train a predictive model. Forexample, the environmental conditions during a first period of time maybe associated with rates of corrosion that occur in a second period oftime in the future (e.g., a present to future relationship).Alternatively, or complementary, the rates of corrosion during a firstperiod of time may be associated with rates of corrosion that occur in asecond, future period of time. These rates may be used as the trainingbasis for the predictive model.

The predictive model may be used to then predict the future levels ofcorrosion of the component based on the historical data (e.g., using thetrained model). The predicted future levels of corrosion may specify,for example, the amount of corrosion of the component at differentpoints in the future and/or the rates of change of the corrosion atdifferent points in time in the future based on environmental conditionsand/or rates of corrosion that have been measured.

These predictions may be used to ascertain when the corrosion risk ofthe component indicates a premature failure (e.g., whether the componentwill fail prior to meeting service life goals). If the component willnot meet is service life goals based on the prediction, the corrosionrisk may indicate the premature failure of the component.

If it is determined that the rate of corrosion indicates a prematurefailure of the component, the method may proceed to step 312. If it isdetermined that the rate of corrosion does not indicate prematurefailure of the component, the method may end following step 310.

In step 312, the corrosion risk of the component is remediated. Thecorrosion risk of the component may be remediated by modifying theenvironmental conditions within the chassis to reduce corrosion of thecomponent.

For example, the temperature of gases supplied to the chassis may beincreased, the rate of gas flow through the chassis may be decreased,humidity may be removed from the gases supplied to the chassis, and/orother changes to the environment may be made. These changes may be madeby modifying operating points of environmental management components.

To modify the operating points of the environmental managementcomponents, messages may be sent to the components indicating thatchanges are to be made, rates of power supplied to the components may bechanged (e.g., reduced), and/or other modifications may be made.

The aforementioned changes may be made in a manner that minimizes theconsumption of power for such purposes. In other words, reduction inthat amount of corrosion due to these changes may be minimized such thatthe component is likely to meet its service life goal.

To determine when to modify the future environmental conditions may bemade based, in part, on the predictive model obtained in step 310. Forexample, the predictive model may be utilized to determine at whichfuture points in time the rate of corrosion may be high. During theseperiods of high corrosion rate time in the future, the environmentalmanager may schedule use of larger amounts of power to better conditionthe environment thereby proactively reducing the corrosion rates to meetservice life goals.

In contrast, during predicted future periods of time when corrosionrates are low, the system may reduce power consumption for environmentalconditioning purposes. Consequently, reduced levels of power may beconsumed for conditioning purposes during low corrosion rate periods oftime in the future.

The method may end following step 312.

Using the method illustrated in FIG. 3, embodiments of the invention mayprovide a system that manages conditions within a chassis to limitcorrosion to meet service life goals.

The environmental manager (200) of FIG. 2 may be implemented as adistributed computing device. As used herein, a distributed computingdevice refers to functionality provided by a logical device thatutilizes the computing resources of one or more separate and/or distinctcomputing devices.

Additionally, as discussed above, embodiments of the invention may beimplemented using a computing device. FIG. 4 shows a diagram of acomputing device in accordance with one or more embodiments of theinvention. The computing device (400) may include one or more computerprocessors (402), non-persistent storage (404) (e.g., volatile memory,such as random access memory (RAM), cache memory), persistent storage(406) (e.g., a hard disk, an optical drive such as a compact disk (CD)drive or digital versatile disk (DVD) drive, a flash memory, etc.), acommunication interface (412) (e.g., Bluetooth interface, infraredinterface, network interface, optical interface, etc.), input devices(410), output devices (408), and numerous other elements (not shown) andfunctionalities. Each of these components is described below.

In one embodiment of the invention, the computer processor(s) (402) maybe an integrated circuit for processing instructions. For example, thecomputer processor(s) may be one or more cores or micro-cores of aprocessor. The computing device (400) may also include one or more inputdevices (410), such as a touchscreen, keyboard, mouse, microphone,touchpad, electronic pen, or any other type of input device. Further,the communication interface (412) may include an integrated circuit forconnecting the computing device (400) to a network (not shown) (e.g., alocal area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) such as theInternet, mobile network, or any other type of network) and/or toanother device, such as another computing device.

In one embodiment of the invention, the computing device (400) mayinclude one or more output devices (408), such as a screen (e.g., aliquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display, touchscreen, cathode raytube (CRT) monitor, projector, or other display device), a printer,external storage, or any other output device. One or more of the outputdevices may be the same or different from the input device(s). The inputand output device(s) may be locally or remotely connected to thecomputer processor(s) (402), non-persistent storage (404), andpersistent storage (406). Many different types of computing devicesexist, and the aforementioned input and output device(s) may take otherforms.

Embodiments of the invention may provide an improved method for managingcomponents of an information handling system. Specifically, embodimentsof the invention may provide a method and device for managing anenvironment in which components of an IHS may reside. To do so,embodiments of the invention may provide a system that utilizescorrosion management components to modulate the rates of corrosionwithin a chassis. The corrosion management components may reduce therate of corrosion of corresponding components. By doing so, prematurefailures due to corrosion.

Thus, embodiments of the invention may address the problem ofenvironments that may cause premature failures of devices due tocorrosion. Specifically, embodiments of the invention may provide amethod of managing corrosion that enables less power to be consumed forenvironmental conditioning purposes while still mitigating the impactsof corrosion.

The problems discussed above should be understood as being examples ofproblems solved by embodiments of the invention disclosed herein and theinvention should not be limited to solving the same/similar problems.The disclosed invention is broadly applicable to address a range ofproblems beyond those discussed herein.

One or more embodiments of the invention may be implemented usinginstructions executed by one or more processors of the data managementdevice. Further, such instructions may correspond to computer readableinstructions that are stored on one or more non-transitory computerreadable mediums.

While the invention has been described above with respect to a limitednumber of embodiments, those skilled in the art, having the benefit ofthis disclosure, will appreciate that other embodiments can be devisedwhich do not depart from the scope of the invention as disclosed herein.Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be limited only by theattached claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computing device of an information handlingsystem, comprising: a hardware component; a trace connected to thehardware component; and a corrosion management component, physicallyconnected to the trace, adapted to reduce a rate of corrosion of thetrace due to an ambient environment in which the trace resides byapplying an electrical potential to the trace.
 2. The computing deviceof claim 1, wherein the corrosion management cent comprises: asacrificial anode of an electrometrically active material.
 3. Thecomputing device of claim 1, wherein the corrosion management componentis mounted to the trace as a surface mount component.
 4. The computingdevice of claim 1, wherein the corrosion management component comprises:a corrosion management layer disposed on the trace.
 5. The computingdevice of claim 4, further comprising: a circuit card on which the traceis disposed, wherein the corrosion management layer is disposed on asurface of the trace opposite the circuit card.
 6. The computing deviceof claim 4, further comprising: a circuit card on which the trace isdisposed, wherein the corrosion management layer is disposed between thetrace and the circuit card.
 7. The computing device of claim 1, furthercomprising: a chassis comprising a hot zone and a cold zone, wherein thetrace is disposed in the cold zone.
 8. The computing device of claim 7,further comprising: a second trace disposed in the cold zone that is notelectrically connected to any corrosion management components.
 9. Thecomputing device of claim 8, further comprising: an environmentalmanager programmed to: monitor an environmental corrosion riskassociated with the trace; make a determination that the trace isassociated with the corrosion management component; in response to thedetermination: estimate a corrosion risk of the trace based on: theenvironmental corrosion risk, and a risk reduction factor associatedwith the corrosion management component; make a second determinationthat the corrosion risk of the trace indicates a premature failure ofthe trace; and remediate the corrosion risk of the trace.
 10. Thecomputing device of claim 9, wherein remediating the corrosion risk ofthe trace comprises: performing an action set comprising at least oneselected from the group consisting of: increasing a temperature of thetrace; decreasing a humidity level of an atmosphere proximate to thetrace; and reducing a rate of flow of the atmosphere proximate to thetrace.
 11. The computing device of claim 9, wherein the environmentalmanager is further programmed to: monitor a second environmentalcorrosion risk associated with a second trace; make a thirddetermination that the second trace is not associated with any corrosionmanagement components; in response to the second determination: estimatea corrosion risk of the second trace based on: the second environmentalcorrosion risk, and no risk reduction factors associated with anycorrosion management components; make a fourth determination that thecorrosion risk of the second trace indicates a premature failure of thesecond trace; and remediate the corrosion risk of the second trace. 12.The computing device of claim 9, wherein the environmental corrosionrisk is estimated based on a temperature of the trace and a relativehumidity level of an atmosphere proximate to the trace.
 13. Thecomputing device of claim 9, wherein the environmental corrosion risk isestimated based on a corrosion rate measured by a corrosion detector.14. The computing device of claim 9, wherein the risk reduction factorspecifies a reduction in a rate of corrosion of the trace based on theelectrical potential applied to the trace.
 15. A method forenvironmentally managing a computing device of an information handlingsystem, comprising: monitoring an environmental corrosion riskassociated with a trace of the computing device, wherein the trace isphysically connected to a corrosion management component adapted toreduce a rate of corrosion of the trace due to an ambient environment inwhich the trace resides by applying an electrical potential to thetrace; making a determination that the trace is associated with thecorrosion management component; in response to the determination:estimating a corrosion risk of the trace based on: the environmentalcorrosion risk, and a risk reduction factor associated with thecorrosion management component; making a second determination that thecorrosion risk of the trace indicates a premature failure of the trace;and remediating the corrosion risk of the trace.
 16. The method of claim15, wherein remediating the corrosion risk of the trace comprises:performing an action set comprising at least one selected from the groupconsisting of: increasing a temperature of the trace; decreasing ahumidity level of an atmosphere proximate to the trace; and reducing arate of flow of the atmosphere proximate to the trace.
 17. The method ofclaim 15, further comprising: monitoring a second environmentalcorrosion risk associated with a second trace, wherein the second traceis not physically connected to any corrosion management components;making a third determination that the second trace is not associatedwith any corrosion management components; in response to the seconddetermination: estimating a corrosion risk of the second trace based on:the second environmental corrosion risk, and no risk reduction factorsassociated with any corrosion management components; making a fourthdetermination that the corrosion risk of the trace indicates a prematurefailure of the trace; and remediating the corrosion risk of the secondtrace.
 18. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computerreadable program code, which when executed by a computer processorenables the computer processor to perform a method for environmentallymanaging a computing device of an information handling system, themethod comprising: monitoring an environmental corrosion risk associatedwith a trace of the computing device, wherein the trace is physicallyconnected to a corrosion management component adapted to reduce a rateof corrosion of the trace due to an ambient environment in which thetrace resides by applying an electrical potential to the trace; making adetermination that the trace is associated with the corrosion managementcomponent; in response to the determination: estimating a corrosion riskof the trace based on: the environmental corrosion risk, and a riskreduction factor associated with the corrosion management component;making a second determination that the corrosion risk of the traceindicates a premature failure of the trace; and remediating thecorrosion risk of the trace.
 19. The non-transitory computer readablemedium of claim 18, wherein remediating the corrosion risk of the tracecomprises: performing an action set comprising at least one selectedfrom the group consisting of: increasing a temperature of the trace;decreasing a humidity level of an atmosphere proximate to the trace; andreducing a rate of flow of the atmosphere proximate to the trace. 20.The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein themethod further comprises: monitoring a second environmental corrosionrisk associated with a second trace, wherein the second trace is notphysically connected to any corrosion management components; making athird determination that the second trace is not associated with anycorrosion management components; in response to the seconddetermination: estimating a corrosion risk of the second trace based on:the second environmental corrosion risk, and no risk reduction factorsassociated with any corrosion management components; making a fourthdetermination that the corrosion risk of the trace indicates a prematurefailure of the trace; and remediating the corrosion risk of the secondtrace.